In the capital of the Eastern Empire, there were two markets.

The first, the Grand Market of the Central Plaza, was filled with salons, tea houses, dress shops, and restaurants catering to the nobility.

The other was the Mendicus Market, which was filthy and poorly policed.

Pellet had established a secret base there, a place mostly used by the poor.

It had been Larinne’s idea — a way to avoid surveillance. In the end, it proved to be a wise decision.

The area looked like the perfect breeding ground for an epidemic, so the nobles and the imperial guards both avoided entering.

Rumors had also spread that a guard who had harassed ethnic minorities there had contracted a horrifying skin disease.

Larinne had started that rumor, too.

Thanks to her, the base remained undiscovered for nearly four years.

Larinne was a trusted leader and dear comrade of Pellet’s.

“Oh my, my lady! What brings you here without even a word beforehand?”

As Larinne stepped into Pellet’s underground base, an elderly woman ran out barefoot to greet her.

“Joan, I came because there’s something urgent to tell you. And Horus is hurt as well.”

“Oh dear, tsk. Poor thing. He’s trembling. Shall I bring something for him to eat?”

“No, it’s alright. I have to leave again soon.”

“I’m so sorry. This old woman can’t even offer proper hospitality…”

Though she barely managed to feed herself, Joan’s kindness toward Larinne was sincere.

Larinne clasped Joan’s rough hands.

“In four days, when the rain prayer ceremony takes place, the dam upstream of the Pactio River will be opened.”

“What? Then what will happen to our plan?”

“We’re not abandoning the escape. We just need to change the method.

“It’ll be slightly risky, but we should still be able to coordinate the timing.”

There was evident unease on Joan’s wrinkled face.

Larinne was thinking of the same thing: the children and elderly people who still needed protection.

She loved them, too. That was why she had attended the State Council meeting earlier that day, where she had carefully devised countermeasures based on the information she had obtained.

“In two days, the Zhakan army will begin sending scouts toward the Pactio River. Before that happens, will you be able to move the supplies hidden downstream?”

“If we start working diligently today, it should be enough.”

Joan reached toward a string hanging from the wall. It was used to summon Pellet.

‘We still haven’t found the traitor… will this really be alright?’

For a moment, a fleeting worry brushed the depths of Larinne’s subconscious. The thought turned into action in an instant.

Larinne grabbed the old woman’s wrist.

This was just before the string could be pulled.

“Do not ask William for help. Absolutely not.”

“Pardon?”

“The reason is…”

How should she explain it?

“I’m sure your plan has its own reason, my lady.”

Joan did not press further as Larinne hesitated.

That alone showed how deeply she trusted her.

Feeling responsibility well up from the depths of her chest, Larinne recalled the faces of the Pellet members one by one.

‘A traitor won’t be able to stop our freedom.’

The suspects had been narrowed down.

Larinne had one week of time.

For everyone’s safety, she would obtain undeniable proof.

“We must avoid drawing attention as much as possible. If we can, it would be best to carry this out secretly—even among Pellet.”

“Then it would be better to use the children. If they move during the daytime, while the adults are away doing odd jobs, it should work.”

“It could be dangerous.”

“My lady. For us Lemen people living in the Eastern Empire, life has always been like a candle in the wind. This old woman and the children have nothing left to fear.”

It wasn’t wrong.

Living as an ‘ethnic minority’ in the Eastern Empire meant living in constant fear of death, which could come at any time.

“Even so… leaving it to the children…”

Her heart did not feel at ease. If things were as they should be, those children would be protected by adults. Yet here she was, having to ask them to fight alongside her.

Whenever she was reminded of this, she found herself wishing for strength.

Not the kind of strength that tramples on and destroys someone else’s happiness, but the kind that can protect.

“This year’s famine… if it weren’t for the food and funds you kept providing, my lady, the children and this old woman would’ve died long ago.”

“I never did those things expecting anything in return.”

“This old woman knows that. But what I wish to tell you is this—none of the children will resent this duty. If anything, they’ll only be glad they can repay you, even a little.”

And, for no reason at all, that person came to mind.

“Larinne. Just because you’re the chosen one doesn’t mean you have to take responsibility for everyone else’s lives, too.”

“How can I ignore them? As long as I can, I want to help. I think we all live carrying our own weight, each in our own place.”

“If you insist, then I’ll carry it with you. I can’t stand watching you shoulder everything alone until you break.”

Not long after saying that, that person had volunteered for the Zhakan army’s dragon subjugation.

“During the day, the Zhakan army will be training as well, so there won’t be anyone patrolling.”

Only then, hearing the old woman’s words, did Larinne realize the gloom had shown on her face.

She forced the corners of her lips upward, unwilling to burden Joan with pointless worry.

“I’ll go at night.”

“Don’t worry about the children keeping their mouths shut. Even if this old woman says nothing, for your sake, my lady, they’re the sort to carry it to the grave.”

“Then please. I’m counting on you.”

“My… my lady. There’s something you need to know.”

Joan’s expression, as she caught Larinne just as she was about to leave the base, was markedly dark.

Larinne’s face hardened as well as she studied the old woman.

Joan looked as though she feared someone might be listening.

“What happened?”

“Marie… she finally learned about Jeba.”

“……”

Larinne pressed her lips together tightly.

Marie.

She was the wife of Jeba, the spy who had died at the Grand Temple a week ago.

Larinne had heard that they hadn’t told Marie yet, as they couldn’t bring themselves to inform a new mother of her husband’s death.

Joan looked at Larinne, who was now frozen to the spot, with worried eyes.

“If you mean to visit her, it would be better to go in a few days.

She only found out this morning, so she’s still in shock.”

“I understand. I’ll do that.”

With her thoughts in turmoil, Larinne left Pellet’s secret hideout.

There was a mountain of things to do.

No matter how heavy her heart felt, she couldn’t afford to waste time here.

She left Mendicus Market behind, and just as she reached the back streets of the Imperial Palace, something heavy flew at her from somewhere.

“!”

She had no time to dodge.

Something hard struck Larinne squarely on the head, snapping her head back from the force.

“Ugh—”

As a groan slipped from her lips, Horus, startled from Larinne’s shoulder, flapped his wings frantically to keep his balance.

The pain arrived a heartbeat later.

“How could you deceive me like this?!”

At the end of the alley stood a disheveled woman, panting angrily at Larinne. She held a stone in one hand and a bundle of cloth in the other.

At first glance, she appeared to be a madwoman.

Tap. Drip.

It seemed the stone she had thrown had split Larinne’s forehead open. Blood ran down past her eyebrow, blurring her vision.

Instead of reprimanding the woman who had suddenly attacked her, Larinne silently wiped away the blood.

Only then did she see the other woman clearly.

Although it was Larinne who was injured, it was the other woman who was crying.

“…You.”

The word scraped from her throat as though she were spitting out sand.

“It’s a lie, right? Please tell me it’s a lie. Please. How am I supposed to live with my child?”

She had thought the woman was holding nothing but a bundle of cloth.

Then, suddenly, the cry of a baby rang out.

Larinne felt as though the ground beneath her feet had given way.

“Why did my husband have to die? Why?”

She could not bring herself to look into Marie’s tear-filled eyes.

***

You said that we would all run away together.

You said that if we joined forces, it would work.

You said we would all make it out alive and that we only had to endure a little longer until the day of freedom.

So why did my husband die?

Those resentful words stabbed into her heart like daggers. She didn’t even remember how she had made it back to the imperial palace.

‘I think I ran into Sir Harry Zervaoon along the way…’

She couldn’t even recall whether she had greeted him properly.

When she came to her senses, she was already in her bedroom.

Chardi, pale as a sheet, had been arranging the bedding before rushing toward her.

“My goodness, where did you get hurt like this?”

Larinne gave no answer.

Marie’s words echoed in her mind like a nightmare.

There was nothing wrong with what she had said.

Every word was true.

It had been Larinne who had gathered the group together.

It was Larinne who had persuaded them all to escape together.

‘Perhaps… I’m the one putting everyone in danger.’

She had considered that possibility before.

But they couldn’t keep living somewhere where they were treated like second-class citizens.

The elderly wouldn’t survive for long.

She couldn’t bear the thought of giving her young children such a bleak future.

Was it too much to hope for something better?

As Larinne sank into her thoughts, she felt soft fingers touch her forehead.

When she lifted her head, she saw that Chardi was carefully applying ointment to her wound.

“Honestly… are you really not going to say anything?”

“……”

“This reminds me so much of when we were children. My younger sibling used to come home hurt all of a sudden, just like you do, Lady Larinne. Even when I asked who did it, they would shut their mouth tight and refuse to say a word.”

Though Larinne didn’t reply, Chardi continued chatting softly to herself.

“I found out later that the neighborhood children had been bullying them for being part of the Aydin clan. I suppose they felt so wronged that they got into a huge fistfight with their bullies. But they didn’t tell me because they didn’t want to worry me.”

Chardi’s gentle, quiet murmur felt as though it were soothing Larinne’s tired shoulders.

“But I knew anyway. When you love someone, you can tell—even if they don’t say anything.”

If the gods had taken pity on her and sent an angel, perhaps it would have looked like this child.

Larinne had endured for so long, swallowing everything and holding on, time and time again.

Chardi’s quiet words of comfort melted the frost in her mind, as if to say that she had endured well.

Larinne felt her eyes grow hot.